1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to optical fibers, and more specifically to bend tolerant optical fibers that contain randomly distributed voids therein, and methods of their making.
2. Technical Background
Optical fibers formed of glass materials have been in commercial use for more than two decades. Although such optical fibers have represented a quantum leap forward in the field of telecommunications, work on alternative optical fiber designs continues. One application space for fibers which has heretofore not been successfully exploited by optical fiber is fiber to the home. However, fibers which are to be employed in buildings and homes face many challenges. A fast and low skilled installation process is vital to keep costs down, which in turn dictates the use of an optical fiber cable that handles and installs as easily as copper—and yet has no adverse affects on the optical power budget. To ensure seamless interconnection with the outdoor distribution network, it's equally important that any new fiber cable should be compatible with standard G.652 fiber, i.e. standard single mode fibers. The traditional problem for installers of optical fiber in buildings is that standard single-mode fiber cables suffer large optical losses if installed like copper cable. While more bend-tolerant fibers have existed, these fibers have not exhibited the dispersion characteristics (e.g. dispersion and dispersion slope at 1310 nm) to make them fully compatible with standard G.652 fiber.
It would therefore be desirable to develop additional bend tolerant fiber designs, particularly macrobend insensitive fibers which exhibit the dispersion characteristics similar to that of standard single mode fiber, and thus are compliant with the ITU-T G.652 standard.